Moscone event calendar suggests Apple may hold WWDC 2011 June 5-9

A new listing for a generic "Corporate Meeting" scheduled for June 5 through 9 at San Francisco's Moscone West could prove to be a placeholder for Apple's annual Worldwide Developer's Conference.

The convention center calendar shows Sunday, June 5 through Thursday, June 9 set aside for an unnamed meeting labeled as a "convention/tradeshow." While the generic listing is no guarantee of the WWDC 2011 dates, the second half of June is booked with five different events, suggesting that Apple's annual event will occur earlier in the month.

The June 5 bloc set aside at the Moscone Center has been reserved at Moscone West, where Apple has historically held WWDC. Calendar listings have frequently served as a potential indicator for the event's date, with varying degrees of success.

This year's event is expected to feature the introduction of Apple's next-generation iPhone. Rumors of the so-called iPhone 5 have picked up steam in recent weeks, suggesting that Apple is exploring the inclusion of an RFID near-field communications chip to use the handset as an electronic wallet.

Last year's WWDC was held June 7 through 11 at Moscone West. Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs formally unveiled the iPhone 4, which would go on to become Apple's best-selling handset yet.

Though the event's keynote is traditionally presented by Jobs, the company co-founder recently took a medical leave of absence that will keep him away from day-to-day duties for an indefinite period of time. In 2009, during Jobs's last absence, Apple's head of marketing Phil Schiller, took over the keynote duties and unveiled the iPhone 3GS.